As of today, a mobile subscriber roaming in another country can be registered into a roaming mobile network (the “visited network”) and receive voice & data mobile services. That requires a roaming agreement between the home network of the subscriber and the visited network. In many cases, the roaming agreement covers only the voice part, and does not cover the data (such as the GPRS connectivity) part. In these cases, the roamer can have voice calls and SMSs, but can not connect to the data services, such as Internet browsing. There is a strong need therefore to provide a solution for the GPRS (or any other IP barrier) connection, without having a GPRS roaming agreement with the home network. The solution therefore should be implemented locally at the visited network, and should include the billing aspect, i.e. the ability of charging the roaming subscriber (who does not have any financial relations with the visited network).
Roaming subscribers in different countries either can not use their Original MSISDN due to different technologies (e.g. GSM, CDMA) or need to pay high tariffs.
The alternative of using VoIP and soft client on a PC or a mobile phone with the Original MSISDN has the limitation of the coverage of the broadband service (WiFi, WiMAX).